Minor Differences
by Ray Venn Hakubi
Summary: Just an amusing short. Shepard notices some... upgrades... since benefiting from Project Lazarus.
1. Chapter 1

Just an amusing short that popped into my head while doing the Omega recruitment missions, and I noticed that Shepard's melee attack seems to have... improved, somewhat, since ME 1.

So this is basically pointless. But it amused me, and took about ten minutes to write, so enjoy. :p

Disclaimer: Mass Effect, etc, at owned by Bioware and Demiurge. This is a work of fanfiction written without any intention of profit or other gains.

* * *

Shepard ducked back into cover, reloading her Mantis with a quick action before popping back up to draw a bead on her next target. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight that greeted her.

"Shit." She had time to mutter, before the charging krogan hit her in the chest with his shoulder, sending her flying back into a pillar. Her head snapped back, cracking against the pillar and dazing her for a moment. By the time she'd shaken it off, the krogan was too close to launch an incineration mine at or bring her Mantis to bear. In desperation, she ducked under its sweeping gun butt, then rose in an uppercut, smashing her fist into the shark-lizard's chin. To her surprise, it dropped like a stone, falling backwards. Blinking, Shepard picked up her rifle and went back to work, drawing a bead on one of the vorcha taking cover behind a bench.

"Hey, Miranda." She keyed her comm link.

"Not in the middle of a fight!" Miranda commed back, ducking out of cover to lay down suppressive fire from her SMG.

"Relax, I'm an Infiltrator. Nonchalant is what I do." Shepard replied, sighting up then pulling the trigger. "So, if Lazarus was meant to bring me back one hundred percent Shepard, as I was when I defeated," -boom/ch-click- "Saren... how come I just cold-cocked a Krogan?"

"You're complaining?" Zaeed cut in, sounding amused. "I coulda done with that kind of punch back when I was taking on Blood Pack vets when I first started out."

"Well, not exactly complaining," Shepard chuckled as she dropped a Varren. "Guess it'll come in pretty useful, but..."

"You two are insane." Miranda muttered, leaping back over a fuel tank before flipping away as it took a rocket, putting all that genetic perfection to use. "How can you hope to concentrate..." she paused as she gathered her power and hurled a warp, "on fighting if you keep bantering?"

Shepard glanced over to where Zaeed was laying out a Krogan with point-blank assault rifle fire. The old merc's eyes met hers in amusement, before he dropped to avoid a rocket.

"We'll manage." Shepard replied, chuckling as she keyed her omni-tool to launch an incendiary mine. "So, about this Doctor..."

"Later, damn it!" Miranda yelled back, hurling a varren away with what sounded dangerously like desperation. The perfect woman may have been an experienced Cerberus commander, but she certainly seemed to lack front-line combat experience. Shepard took pity on her and dropped the landshark with a shot to the soft part of its skull, behind the ear vent.


	2. Chapter 2

This really isn't the story I wanted to tell, but dear Shepard won't leave me alone. You will probably see an actual story about this Shepard eventually (I'm writing her Origin Story at the moment), but not until it's done.

Disclaimer: Mass Effect, etc, at owned by Bioware and Demiurge. This is a work of fanfiction written without any intention of profit or other gains.

* * *

Shepard frowned to herself as she stared into the mirror in her quarters. Something... wasn't quite right. Everything in the room was sized perfectly, as if the room had been designed to fit her. Yet despite that ease, something was bugging her about the room.

After a few minutes, she figured it out. Calling up her omni-tool, she scanned the desk. Skipping past the information about monitoring devices, concealed tech and hidden compartments, she scrolled to the physical information.

"It's the same height off the floor as the desk on the old Normandy." She muttered, frowning. But that desk was always a little tall for her comfort, having been designed for the average male spacer, who tended to be six feet at the minimum, while April – as a female from the relatively high-grav world Mindoir, and Eden before that – was only five foot five. To Shepard, there was only one conclusion – and in any case, the discovery of her enhanced strength had proved that teasing Miranda was just too much fun.

"Miranda, got a moment?" She asked into the wall-mounted internal comm. unit.

"Yes, Shepard?" The head of the Lazarus Project responded almost immediately.

"If Lazarus was supposed to bring me back exactly as I was, no differences... how come I've gained two inches?" She asked, lightly.

"Ah... well... there wasn't enough space." Miranda replied, clearly thinking quickly from her tone. "The cybernetics we had to use needed slightly more space than was available in your old body, we didn't have a choice but to make you a little taller over all. Otherwise everything just wouldn't have fitted."

"I see. You know, I recall finding a video log one of your stalkers back on Lazarus Station left open of you saying that if there was even a single difference, Lazarus had failed..." Shepard trailed off.

"Damn that Sanchez." Miranda growled in frustration, deliberately letting herself get side-tracked. "If he wasn't dead, I'd keel haul him... again."

"Hmm, kinky." Shepard replied, then chuckled to herself as her involuntary XO spluttered in the background, leaving her to her denials and exclamations.


	3. Chapter 3

Probably the last chapter, since herein what passes for a plot element is resolved, but I may yet find further 'minor differences'.

Disclaimer: Mass Effect, etc, at owned by Bioware and Demiurge. This is a work of fanfiction written without any intention of profit or other gains.

* * *

Shepard paused, then double checked. Sighing softly, she reached out past the curtain to key the ship-board intercomm.

"Ne, Miranda..." She said, dropping her voice to a husky purr.

"Yes, Shep- wait, are you in the _shower_?" Miranda replied, voice rising at the end. Obviously she'd heard the water in the background (and, like Joker's leather seats, alliance water-control regulations be damned).

"Mhmm." Shepard purred, running a hand through her hair again. "You know, back before I died..."

"Yes?" Miranda sighed, long-sufferingly. Shepard decided she was getting near the end of how much teasing she could do over the radio before the straight girl snapped.

"I had a few grey hairs. I was nearly thirty when I died, you know, and the military isn't exactly a relaxing organisation..." She briefly considered switching to petulant, but decided it would be more amusing to remain sultry.

"I'm sure they'll come back on their own soon enough." Miranda snapped back. "Honestly, of all the things to be mad about..."

"Oh, I'm not mad.. I just wanted to thank you personally, since I just noticed..." Shepard murmured into the comm, barely audible over the continued sound of the shower.

"I... you... that is..." Miranda stammered, apoplectic. "_April!_" She finally shrieked, incapable of actually forming a sentence.

"Miss Lawson," April Shepard replied calmly, all teasing gone from her voice as she switched the shower off and started drying her auburn hair, "You seriously need to relax. You think this is bad? You wouldn't have lasted _two days_ on an Alliance ship."

"This isn't an alliance ship." Miranda snapped back. "And unlike some... irresponsible... juvenile..." she spluttered, trying to find an adequate word, "_incorrigible_ commanders I know, I realise just how damn serious this damn mission is! The entire galaxy is at stake and all you ever do is goof off!"

"You really have no clue, do you?" Shepard sighed. "I am... was... career military for eleven years, thirteen if you count my time on the Einstein before I officially enlisted. Not just a soldier, but an N7 spec. ops marine. Live with death for that long and you go one of two ways. Either you snap and become dead inside yourself, or you develop coping mechanisms. I'm one of the lucky ones. Unless you stop being so damn scared of being human, of enjoying life while you can, you won't be." She realised she was ranting, and toned it down a little. "You think I'm upset that I can punch out a Krogan, or that I've got the colour back in my hair? Being two inches taller might have nearly gotten me killed once or twice since I came back, and played merry hell with my co-ordination, but over all, I don't really care all that much. This is my second chance."

"And you're wasting it on trying to destroy my professionalism?" Miranda snarled back. "Don't you have more important things to do than flirt with a-"

"No." Shepard cut her off, firmly. "No, I don't have anything more important to do than make sure my team doesn't screw themselves up. Not this time. And if I have to flirt with a damn straight girl to do it, I'm going to flirt with the god damned straight girl until she untwists her god damn knickers. If I have to kiss the blasted Turian to get his head back on right, I'll kiss the blasted Turian." She stopped, taking a deep breath to calm herself down again.

"You know, Shepard, I thought you were just a bloody space dyke." Miranda slipped the comment in while she was gathering her thoughts. "Now I know you're just a bloody whore it makes me feel a lot better."

"You..." Shepard started objecting, then stopped and laughed. "That's better. Banter, Miranda, will be your salvation. Pass the message along to Joker and Zaeed, we're going to Zorya."

"Fine." Miranda huffed, sulkily.

"And check your guns. You're coming planetside with us."

"I..." Miranda checked, then replied. "Yes, ma'am!"

Much better, Shepard grinned to the small picture on the desk as she pulled on her undersuit. Maybe now, the Cerberus cheerleader could actually be a part of the team.


End file.
